Wilderness

British werewolf films always seem to get the idea correct behind the myth. Neil Marshall's Dog Soldiers throttled his career into less-satisfying films, but i am still thankful for his mark on the "wolfman" genre. Similar to Fawcett's slight feminist tones in Ginger Snaps, Ben Bolt bares his teeth in regards to the purity of the female and in the same time, gives her a feral presence.

Wilderness concerns a young woman who strangely looks like a British Winona Ryder with crooked teeth. This woman believes she is a werewolf. No reasoning behind it, no bite; it almost denounces the theory of an infection of sorts. She was just born into i guess. Same with maturity issues in female horror films, her near rape experience caused her to transform into a Timber Wolf and strike down the boy.

Enter her psychiatrist; a man who soon becomes detached from his own life and begins to write about this woman. He strangely becomes obsessed with her while quoting Freud doctrine. He becomes a strong character only to be foolishly detached later and given a quick end. Her boyfriend resembles a disturbing John C. Reilly clone, albeit with a much larger forehead.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, not the director of Wilderness though. Ben Bolt has collected some of the most hideous actors ever for this Made-for-TV effort that is better than the rest. Amanda Ooms is mostly nude for the film. Her metamorphosis consists of that hokey morph effect that was so widely used in horrible sitcoms such as Charmed. Its biggest contribution was its ending. It makes up for whatever slack it lost throughout it's run time. It proves to be an intelligent and thought provoking thriller that builds the bridge through humanity and wildlife.

-mAQ